I wasn't 100% sure how I'd feel about this one. I'm a hit or miss with New Adult but I love this pink cover so I thought I'd give it a try. And I'm so glad I did!

It's an interesting plot - Lizzie's parents are suddenly gone - an accident taking them both at the same time. She's young, 19, and really going wild at college. She's not in the best place to drop it all and take on her younger siblings. Oh yeah, did I mention she's the legal guardian now? I really liked Lizzie. I like how hard she tried, all the mistakes she made but also how hard she fought. I found the sexy parts a bit odd listening to them on audio book, but the plot and pace of the story were great and I thought the romance was sweet.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This book has such promise to me but I realized rather quickly that it wasn’t my cup of tea. Hopefully though it will find its audience and someone who enjoys it.

4.5 stars!

Thank the heavens above I didn't DNF this.

Right off the bat, at that very first scene, I already had the urge to put this book down. The heroine was highly unlikeable for me and she seemed irredeemable moving forward. But then this book quickly went from a big eye roll to a story that should be, in my opinion, how a new adult romance should be done.

Our heroine Lizzie Brandt is a college student with so much academic potential but sadly has gone off the rails. Her life turned upside down when a tragic accident forced her to straighten her ways in order to be a capable guardian to her two younger brothers. While dealing with grief and generally learning how to take care of herself and her siblings, she receives a helping hand from her TA Connor Lawson and they slowly form a forbidden romantic relationship.

I'm just going to say it outright: the romance in here is freaking FANTASTIC! I honestly had huge doubts as this is classified as new adult. I've had misses within that subgenre in the past but god did this book deliver what needs to be delivered. I love me a couple who knows what they want and will stop at nothing just to get it. I love a couple who actually fights for their relationship and won't back down and call it quits just because the people around them disapprove. While there is a moral dilemma surrounding the romance between our main characters, I was able to suspend my disbelief because I felt like they acted as a unit and proved that their love is solid despite every obstacle being thrown at them.

Besides the romance, Lizzie's character development was also highlighted. I absolutely loved seeing her transform herself into a more responsible adult even though her role was essentially forced upon her. I also loved that she was surrounded by people with so much love and support to give and because of that, she was able to slightly let go and bring more focus to herself.

The only reason I didn't give this a full five stars is because I would have wanted Connor's perspective. I feel like his side of the story would have added a bit more depth. Regardless, I think that's more a me thing than the book itself so it's not really a major complaint.

I'd also like to give huge props to the AMAZING narrator of the audiobook. I personally think her performance hightened my enjoyement of this book. She's a total performer and I'd love to listen to more of her narrations!

Overall, GO READ THIS BOOK. If you're a bit turned off by new adult romances, I highly recommend giving Lizzie and Connor's story a try. And go the the audiobook route if possible for the full experience!

This audiobook was a great listen! The banter was witty, lively and entertaining. Grief was a central part of the read and a source of the romance. Although the scene set at the beginning of the book seems unrealistic, all the emotions and actions as a result end up being very normal. The narrator does an excellent job and makes the listen that much smoother.

I received this as ARC through NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to review.

This book meets romance and cliché.
18 year old Lizzi needs to step up for her brothers after both of her parents pass.
While she is trying to get school done, caring for her brothers and just succeeding life without her parents, she gets involved with Connor her TA which adds more complications and twists into her life.

It is a typical romance story well written and developed. "Forbidden" love between a student an a TA and a large age difference are the ingrediencies to this book.

I really enjoyed this mix of romance and cliché. It is what you expect from a relaxing but still exiting romance book to just read and enjoy.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration!

**** review on my goodreads page ****

I picked this one up expecting a rom-com, based on the cover and the blurb. However, it turned out to be a romance heavy on the erotic scenes, which are books I tend to avoid. I’m still going to review it because although I skipped the (many) sex scenes, I enjoyed the character development around Lizzie, the main character. It was also unexpectedly realistic and yet disappointingly so when it came to the resolution of the issue at the centre of the book, i.e. the custody of Lizzie’s two little brothers after the unexpected and tragic passing of their parents. I appreciated the conversations around responsibility and adulthood centered around an undergraduate college student and her graduate-level boyfriend and got a feel for what bullying now is in the day and age of the internet and smartphones.

This audiobook started great. The main character is a powerful young women, who sadly went through a lot in her personal and academic life. Things start to get even worse when an accident changes her life forever.
But a ray of hope comes from her teacher, who also seems to have some feelings for her. The plot gets steamier, but it does not forgive about the main topic, her development and her strength that gets bigger and bigger with every chapter and obstacle.
I liked this audiobook, but I feel like I some of the comic scenes were too much.

I am a fan of light and funny rom-coms. But this wasn't for me. There are some parts of it that I enjoyed. But otherwise it wasn't a good read for me

When I started this novel, I have to admit that I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy it. I was wrong. I am not too proud to admit it. There is something magical about the two main characters and even though they go through some really tough times, you know they’re the type of characters that will always be together. He is a man that I would like to meet in real life.

I highly recommend this one. It is a heartwarming story about love, loss, and overcoming. I also can’t wait to read more about the other characters.

The Story has been gripping from the beginning. The story proved that not everyone is perfect and every one has flaws and learns things over time.

Thank you NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved his heartwarming and quick read! Would love more from this author!! This book ,add me cry, made me laugh out loud and most importantly made me feel all giddy - would absolutely recommend this book to my friends!

I DNF’d this at 30%, just not for me. I tried really hard but just couldn’t get into it. Someone else may enjoy it. Good Luck!

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT by Dahlia Adler is a new adult romance that follows Lizzie and Connor. At the beginning of the story, Lizzie’s parents pass away and she has to take care of her two younger brothers. At the same time, she starts falling for her history TA – Connor. It’s a forbidden romance because of the teacher-ish/student dynamic and their age gap, so if those are tropes you like, you’re definitely going to like this book.

It’s quite an emotional romance because it obviously deals with grief and loss, and the fact that Lizzie has to take a parental role before she’s ready for it. The romance gets really angsty and steamy, and it’s also kind of a “will they, won’t they” situation a bit.

Even though I think it’s a good romance, it didn’t entirely work for me. The conflicts in the book were repetitive and kept on staying stagnant without any development, which was really frustrating. The way Connor dealt with their situation and pushed Lizzie away multiple times really annoyed me, and it hindered my enjoyment of the story. It obviously makes sense that he would react that way but it was just the same exact thing more than once. So the angst was a bit much for me and I didn’t fully feel invested in the romance, but it’s definitely a more “me problem” than the book’s problem. I generally don’t like a lot of angst but many people do, so if that’s you, check this book out!

I listened to it on audio and I'd definitely recommend the audiobook because the narration is really great and it helped me read the book faster when there were some slower-paced parts of the plot.

So while I didn’t really like it and had some issues, I still think it’s a great romance that you would enjoy if you like a lot of angst, age gaps, and forbidden romance.

This book was way better than I had anticipated, I have thought it would just be another cheesy romance, and in some ways, it also was, but in a lot of other ways it stuck out.

I loved the start, it was an incredible way to start a book, without any introductions or anything like that, and it started out very heartbreaking, which made me shed a few tears.

I was very glad that it wasn’t Tristan the romance in the story was about, which I first thought. And when Connor was introduced, I was smitten, he was such a grumpy, nerdy guy that immediately caught my interest, and his development throughout the story was very good.

However, I didn’t like the on/off relationship they had going on, I thought it was a little bit too unreal and unhealthy to portray in that way. But it was nice to see how they thirsted after each other and really wanted one another.

I also really enjoyed the plot about grief and suddenly becoming a guardian to two little boys. It was heartbreaking to see the whole family struggle and not being able to figure out this new life and new role they had to play. But I though it added a nice touch to be included and there was general a lot going on in the book, which didn’t make it quite as predictable and boring.

However, there were a few times where I though it was going to end, because it seemed like everything had fallen to place and it was the happy ever after, but then it felt like there was just added a problem to keep the book from not ending.

But overall, really enjoyable, and true.

I loved this rom-com. I did cry some though. I have a read a couple of books by this author and was not disappointed in this one. I need to read the next one in this series! This was such a steamy one. Thanks to Netgalley and Orange Sky audio for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t realize that this audiobook is part of a new adult series originally published in 2014, but I am happy to see Dahlia’s backlist become more accessible and make it to audio!

While I did enjoy LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT for the most part, I had issues with the set-up of this romance. I misread the synopsis and thought the love interest was the 18 year-old main character’s tutor. He ended up being her TA… and 25 years-old. Unfortunately, I personally was not super comfortable with this age gap, especially because Connor often brought up Lizzie’s age when they were fighting. I really wanted to like the romance and there was chemistry, but I couldn’t get over the age-gap and teacher/student ick.

That said, I still enjoyed Lizzie as a narrator. She wasn’t the traditionally likable heroine, but she was charming, sympathetic, and I personally found myself rooting for her. I liked the writing of this book and love books set in college, so I do plan to continue with this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orangesky audio for the opportunity to listen to this book! I loved it! The story was so good and the characters were fantastic! The audio ran really smoothly and the narrator did a great job! I am usually not a big audiobook fan but I really enjoyed this! 4.5⭐️

Lizzie, a 19-year-old college student, becomes the guardian of her two younger siblings after her parents are killed in a car accident. Previously a party girl making questionable decisions and behaving irresponsibly, Lizzie is now struggling to manage her siblings, their school, their feelings, and her own feelings and courseload. She begins to develop a dependence on and friendship with a TA for one of her classes, Connor. As she struggles to keep everything together, a vindictive classmate actively works to sabotage Lizzie's efforts and ruin Lizzie's life as well as anyone else's who is in her orbit. The characters were all well developed and I was interested in all of their outcomes, but I didn't really understand why Lizzie and Connor were attracted to one another outside of just their proximity to one another. The ending wrapped up a little too neatly, effectively halting Lizzie's growth opportunity and the vindictive student was never subjected to any kind of sanctions at the hands of the college, which was extremely unrealistic as most campuses have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying. It was a nicely paced story and I did enjoy it, but the ending felt a little abrupt.

4.25/5⭐️

TW: grief, death of parents

Tropes: TA & student, college romance, good boy/bad girl, boy falls first

This was super cute, I absolutely loved it. The plot was really interesting and done so well. It was fast paced and so easy to get through. I really liked Lizzie’s character. Even though she didn’t always make the best decisions, she was dealing with so much between the loss of her parents and having to take care of her brothers while being a college student, that it was completely understandable. I also found she was a really relatable character. I also loved Conner, he was nerdy and so damn cute. I found listening to the audiobook of this book was really enjoyable, the narrator was fantastic. Overall, I would definitely recommend giving this book a read.

I really enjoyed this New Adult story!

After reading Cool For The Summer last year by author Dahlia Adler and loving it, I was really excited to read this and listen to the gifted copy of LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT on audio.

It was narrated by Samantha Summers, and my first listen by her, but I thought she was a great choice to voice main character Lizzie Brandt, a partying student at Radleigh University that becomes sole guardian to her younger brothers once her parents die in a tragic accident.

Overall it was a good audiobook and I flew through the emotional story of love and loss, and balancing life.

*many thanks to OrangeSky Audio and Netgalley for the gifted ALC copy for review